How will technology change people's home care in the next 20 years? A strategic foresight study

Abstract

The rapid expansion of home health care has raised many unresolved issues and will have far-reaching consequences that can only be overcome with a holistic approach to help build and use collective intelligence in a structured, systemic way to anticipate developments. In this frame, the set of issues covered by the human factors research field will significantly impact the safety, quality, and effectiveness of home health care. However, only with a gaze of strategic foresight will we be capable of exploring, anticipating, and shaping the future. A group of researchers from the Italian Society of Ergonomics and Human Factors (SIE) has developed a road map to help all the stakeholders involved in this process.

Keywords: Home care; ergonomics; human factors; human-centred design; strategic foresight.